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***An Open Letter to the Chuck's Farm community:
For the first time in over 25 years, we did not have a Chuck’s Farm Harvest Festival last fall. If I could choose one word to sum up why I have this festival, it would be “community.” In our modern society, the concept of community has all but collapsed .Without a
sense of community many of the problems confronting us are simply not solvable. The question then is how does one build a sense of community and how does one teach people to behave in a way that fosters our sense of community? The first thing is that people have to get out and actually meet one another. In ancient times they had many festivals celebrating all sorts of things. Today we have commercial entertainment but rarely an event whose main purpose is simply to enjoy the company of others in our community. That is why this is a free event. It is not intended to be a commercial activity to entertain you. We grow close by breaking bread together, sharing food. This is why we have a kitchen set up to share food. This is why I don’t have commercial food vendors. We grow closer both by helping one other and by being helped by one another. This festival is intended to make random acts of kindness be more than a bumper sticker, and to let people experience the power of both doing things and seeing the results that can happen when others join in random acts of kindness. This is a chance to let your higher self manifest and see the power in that. This is not intended simply to be a big party. It is intended to be an experience to teach us what we could be if we just reached out to one another in community. It is intended to teach us the power of sharing and what that makes possible. This is intended to be a fun raiser to lift our spirits and to show us the power of cooperation. This is why I don’t want people to vend. This is not the time to make money. It is a time to share with those in your community. I know there were many rumors of why I did not have a festival last year. There were several bad things that have happened in the past few years: damage to the property and harassment of some of my good neighbors. Last year my house was robbed. However, these were not the reasons I felt the need to skip a year. It was not the actions of a few bad people that made me skip a year. It was the inaction of many good people. I’ve not been able to get the amount of help that is needed to put together such an event. Ever year for the past 5 or 6 years I’ve gotten lots of promises that people would show up and volunteer and help, and then no one stepped forward. If no one volunteers then it has become just another form of entertainment. If I’m only going to entertain you then I should get paid. If we are building community together, then I will give my all to make sure this event continues in the fine tradition that so many have enjoyed these many years. - Chuck
